Event
ARC @ Southern Defenders 7th Summit
Johannesburg
The State of Artistic Freedom in Africa: Movement Building, Legal Reform, and Mechanisms of Support
Monday, November 25
15:30 - 16:30
The Galleria
This Session - led by Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), Nhimbe Trust, and the AMANI African Creative Defense Network - focuses on the fundamental links between human rights and artistic freedom in Southern Africa. Drawing on data and analysis generated by Nhimbe Trust, the session will outline the state of artistic freedom on the continent, discuss strategies of support for artistic rights, outline the need for and impact of legislative reform on censorship in the region, and present the global advocacy campaign to develop an Action Plan for the Protection of Artists.
As a specific case study, we will discuss Zambia’s contribution to the regional and global discourse on the protection of artists, particularly in the field of legislative reform, artistic freedom litigation as well as the integration of art and artists in mainstream human rights defenders’ networks. We are honored to include Fumba Chama, a.k.a pilAto (Permanent Secretary of Youth, Sports, and Culture), Esther Ngambi (Director at the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Culture), and Muleta Kapatiso (Zambian HR and artistic freedom lawyer) in this discussion.
Schedule
- Framing of key structures and movements for Artistic Freedom in Africa (ARC)
- Outline of the state of artistic freedom on the continent based on the recent Nhimbe Trust Report on Artistic Freedom (Nhimbe)
- Presentation of advocacy strategy towards the Action Plan for the Protection of Artists (Adam Shapiro)
- Case study of the progress made supporting artistic freedom in Zambia and regional strategies learned
- Presentation and conversation by:
- Fumba Chama (a.k.a PilAto) - permanent secretary of youth, sports, and culture, Zambia
- Esther Ngambi - Director of the National Arts Council, Zambia
- Muleta Kapatiso - HR and artistic freedom lawyer who lead the case for the repeal of the legislature on the criminalisation of defamation of the president
Participants
Fumba Chama, AKA Pilato
Mr. Fumba Chama, is a Zambian renowned artist, activist and poet. He has gained vast experience as an artist and an advocate for human rights. His work as an artist has left an enormous mark in the Zambian creative industry. Apart from being an Artist, Mr. Fumba Chama has served in various portfolio functions of none profit making having served at various levels of governance in Non- Governmental organizations and enterprises in Zambia. Mr. Chama is also the Permanent Secretary responsible for arts in the Zambian Ministry of Youth, Sport, and Arts, where he spearheads policy formulation and development, capacity building, strategic planning and monitoring and evaluation of the Ministry’s activities.
Esther Ng’ambi is a Director of Arts Development in the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Arts of the Republic of Zambia. Esther has vast experience, having served in various Government departments at senior management level, heading units in various portfolio functions. She has participated in developing several Government policies meant to promote and protect the rights and interests of various groups such as the youth, persons with disabilities, older persons and women.
Esther Ng’ambi has been, Director of Arts since May 2022, where she has been instrumental in the process of developing the first-ever National Arts Policy and its implementation plan to ensure the rights and interests of artists in particular and artistic expression in general is protected and promoted. She has also been instrumental in the review of the 2017 National Film Policy and its implementation plan. She is also responsible for the development, promotion, coordination and implementation of creative arts industries to ensure they are inclusive, dynamic and sustainable.
Lisa Sidambe
Lisa Sidambe is Nhimbe Trust’s Consultant Researcher and Advocacy Lead in the Comprehensive Programme for Artistic Freedom, supported by the Swedish Arts Council. The work entails monitoring and documenting artistic freedom violations and other developments in 51 African African countries, reporting, and engaging UN human rights mechanisms. She also is Freemuse’s Sub-Saharan Africa researcher. Lisa is the founder of Canvas of my Identity, an initiative that employs mixed media visual art to engage post-conflict narrations of contested spaces, contested discourses and contested identities. A Mandela Rhodes Scholar, Canon Collins Scholar, Beit Scholar and Sir John Monash Medallist, Lisa has studied philosophy, international studies, advanced human rights, public law, cultural project management, as well as conflict, development and security. She currently is a Political Studies PhD candidate at the University of Johannesburg.
Muleta Kapatiso
Muleta Kapatiso is an activist, lawyer and development practitioner. He is an experienced professional in offering human rights programming services, constitutional and administrative law, civil and criminal dispute resolution, legislative and policy reform, strategic partnerships and advocacy, artistic freedoms, elections and democracy, activist legal support and social movement building. Muleta has over 12 years of experience working on various cross-cutting development, governance, law and policy issues. He is currently serving as the Policy and Government Engagement Manager at Healthy Learners, providing technical support to the government of Zambia, and is the founder of Grassroots Solidarity Advocates (GRASA). Muleta volunteers in various capacities to contribute a little towards shared local and global aspirations. Muleta is specialised in Constitutional and Administrative law.
Adam Shapiro
Adam Shapiro is the Deputy Director of Programs at Artists at Risk Connection. He most recently held the position of Director of Advocacy for Israel and Palestine at DAWN, a nonprofit organization that supports democracy and human rights in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Before this, he served as the Head of Communications & Visibility for Front Line Defenders, an international human rights organization based in Ireland. In addition to being an independent documentary filmmaker, Adam worked for Global Rights in Afghanistan and for Avaaz, organizing its initial support to activists in the Middle East during the uprisings in 2011. He holds a MA in Politics from NYU, a MA in Arab Studies from Georgetown University and a BA from Washington University in St. Louis. He speaks Arabic and Spanish.
Sam Brakarsh
Sam Brakarsh is the Africa Regional Representative for Artists at Risk Connection (ARC), coordinator of the AMANI: Africa Creative Defense Network, and co-chair of the upcoming PANAF Summit on Artistic Freedom. He is from Zimbabwe where he cofounded the Chikukwa Research Trust and Culture Centre, focusing on sustainable governance, political theatre, and environmental justice. Sam is a Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) practitioner, having established a TO network in Zimbabwe as well as conducting trainings in Ghana, Kenya, the United States, the Philippines, and Palestine. He has a background in health justice and previously worked with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, supporting the Global Health Workforce team on COVID-19 response and Community Health Worker system strengthening in seven countries across Sub-Saharan Africa. He also sits on the Mind and Life Institute’s Advisory Council, where he serves on the review and design committee for their international Changemaker Grant. Sam is a Dalai Lama Fellow and holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.Sc. from Oxford University.